Jan Lievens

Jan Lievens - A sensation early on as a child prodigy

Jan Lievens was born in Leiden on 24th October 1607. His great artistic talent was already evident in his early childhood, so that he was permitted to start an apprenticeship as a painter at the age of eight. Around two years later, the young Jan Lievens moved to Amsterdam to deepen his knowledge under the recognised history painter Pieter Lastman. When Lievens returned to his hometown of Leiden and began his career as a freelance painter, he was just twelve years old. This caused quite a stir and brought the artist some fame, whilst his masterfully executed copy of Cornelis van Haarlem's oil painting Heraclitus and Democritus met with an enthusiastic response. The public delight finally aroused the interest of the Prince of Orange, Moritz von Nassau, who bought a large-format work by the young painter and honoured the English ambassador. The latter was deeply impressed and showed it to King James I, who invited Jan Lievens to his court a few years later.

Friendly rivalry with Rembrandt; successful years in England

In his younger years, Jan Lievens cultivated a friendly rivalry with his famous contemporary Rembrandt van Rijn, with whom he may even have shared a studio at times. The Dutch diplomat Constantijn Huygens, renowned for his artistic acumen, compared the works of both artists from that period and came to the conclusion that Lievens was more inventive but less expressive than Rembrandt. In 1631, Lievens and Rembrandt parted ways when the latter went to Amsterdam, while the former moved to England, where he impressed even the English royal family with his artistry. When Jan Lievens finally returned to his native Netherlands, he first settled in Antwerp and married Suzanna Colyn de Nole, the daughter of the sculptor Michiel Colyns. His encounter with the art of Anthonis van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens led to a refinement of his style, and Lievens moved to focus on more elegant brushwork and lighter colours.

The catastrophic year of 1672 brought a great career to a halt

Jan Lievens achieved great fame as a painter, but also created remarkable works in the field of printmaking. At the height of his career, he was one of the most sought-after artists of his time, showered by commissions from the rich and powerful. His speciality was portraits and historical scenes, and in Antwerp he occasionally worked with the Flemish master Adriaen Brouwer. He held the rank of court painter in The Hague and Berlin. After the death of his first wife, he married the sister of his fellow painter Jan de Bray in 1648. As a result of the so-called Rampjaar, or catastrophic year of 1672, the painter struggled with financial difficulties until the end of his life. England and France as well as the prince-bishops of Cologne and Münster had declared war on the Netherlands that year, making it almost impossible for the artist to accept lucrative commissions from Europe.

Jan Lievens died in Amsterdam on 4th June 1674.